The Long Grind

At some point, an invasion becomes a relationship, even without the invaded party’s consent. If an occupying force can dig in and avoid defeat, the two sides will begin to adapt and to develop the conditions of a shared long-term existence. These wars of attrition can lead to several outcomes, but they often grind to a messy stalemate — and a transformed reality.

We have entered a long-term relationship with COVID‑19. Many of us have been infected by the virus formally named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 or know someone who has been. An increasing number of us have had it more than once. Globally, SARS‑CoV‑2 has officially claimed the lives of some 6.3 million grandparents, parents, siblings, and children, and the actual number is probably more than twice that, according to recent estimates by the World Health Organization. We are all tired of life being like this. Yet our relationship with this virus is still relatively young, as these things go...